Vegetarian Recipe Blog

Kid Friendly Recipes

The other day a friend of mine asked me as to why I have not been posting Kids’ recipes often. She said it is helpful for moms like her with picky eaters to get some ideas for lunch boxes or otherwise. Well, I agreed and told her that I have not been posting as I intended, which was once a month but it is just not happening.

It is not that I don’t try some new stuff on the kiddo, but it is just the lack of time to post the recipes. Juggling between work, kiddos activities, his homework, household stuff sometimes I feel there is just not enough time. Thankfully it is not the lack of enthusiasm to post or cook so I am pretty sure that once I find time I will be posting often.

Noodles are an all time favorite of the kids and so I prepare it often. I don’t add any type of sauce in this; it is just noodles tossed with toasted garlic and vegetables. You can add or subtract vegetables of your choice

Ingredients:

3 cups noodles (cooked, it is hard to give this measurement, so this is approximate)

½ cup broccoli + ½ cup capsicum (any veggies of choice)

2-3 spring onion finely chopped (top and white part discarded)

1 small onion (chopped lengthwise)

2 tsp ginger + garlic paste

A pinch of red chilli flakes

½ tsp Crushed black pepper/pepper powder

1 Tbsp Oil

salt to taste

Method:

Boil the noodles (as per the instructions on the package) along with salt. Add 1-2 drops of oil while boiling.

Toward the end I add the broccoli florets and let it cook for a minute. Drain the water and keep aside.

Take a big heavy bottom pan, and add oil on medium to high heat, put in the ginger garlic paste and cook until brown.

Start adding the vegetables, onion first sauté and then add the chopped capsicum and cook.

Add the cooked noodles (along with broccoli) and mix well with the vegetables. Drizzle little oil if necessary.

One of the well loved vegetable in our house (just after potatoes) is Ivy Gourd/Tindora. Along with Tindora Rice, Tindora Coconut Curry, this is one dish that I make often when we have Tindora at home.

I keep this very simple by adding only the basic seasonings; no complex curry powders or masala powders etc for this curry. I love it when the flavor of the Tindora shines through and is not masked by complicated ingredients. Adding onion to this is optional. I add it as onions add moistness to the tindora and also prevents it from sticking to the bottom of the pan while cooking.

The only time consuming part is the prep work which involves chopping of the Tindora. At times I chop the Tindora the night before while watching TV or while talking to family/ friends. If you can pass off that chore to somebody else like the husband then even better; anything that keeps you off of the long chopping process. 🙂

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

250 gms /1/4 kg Tindora/ Kundru/Tendli/Ivy Gourds

1 medium onion chopped

1-2 tsp red chilli powder [substitute with green chillies]

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp urad daal

3-4 curry leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera

Oil

A pinch asafetida/hing

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander leaves (garnish)

¼ cup shredded coconut (optional)

Method:

Wash the Tindora and remove the tip and the tail end of the vegetable. Chop it into two lengthwise and then further cut them into thin long stips. Note: Some prefer to chop in thin circles and that is fine too.

Take a big flat bottom pan; heat about 1 Tbsp of oil. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.

Add the curry leaves, jeera/cumin seeds, asafetida and mix.Add the urad daal and fry until it turns light brown.

Add the chopped onions and sauté until it lightly softens. (No need to cook for a long time as it cooks more after the Tindora is added).

Add the chopped Tindora/ Ivy gourd and stir until it mixes with the onions and seasoning.

Stir in between making sure it does not stick to the bottom.

Add salt, turmeric, and red chilli powder and mix well. Sprinkle little water in intervals to avoid sticking to bottom and speeding the cooking process. (Do not add too much water).

Add more oil if necessary. Cover with lid and let it cook on simmer, stir in between.

Switch off when the Tindora are cooked (has bite to it, but not over cooked)

Sandwiches are tasty snack can be put together in a jiffy and are perfect for lunches, picnics, outings and kids lunchboxes.

I enjoy eating sandwiches for lunch; they are light yet filling and doesn’t make you feel drowsy. Definitely good if you have one of those long boring Thursday afternoon status meetings that can put you off to sleep 🙁

I made this on a whim while I was working from home one day. I had the necessary chutneys on hand and felt like eating something ‘Chatpata” (which means ‘sweet, tangy, sour and delicious’ in Hindi). So I added all the different constituents of Chaat onto a bread and made this delicious sandwich. Now unlike most other sandwiches, this sandwich is a bit difficult to carry to work and tricky to assemble. So you might be limited to eating this at home!

There are two types of chutneys that I have used for this sandwich. The green chutney made of fresh coriander/cilantro is easy and versatile. It can be used in chaats as condiments for vada pav, samosa, pakodas, khandvi, dhoklas and great for sandwich spreads as well. You can add fresh mint and enhance the flavor even more. In fact, the inspiration for this green chutney comes from Jaya @ DSM who had prepared it during a fun family outing.

The quintessential component of chaats, tangy and sweet tamarind chutney enhances flavor of any dish.

If you do not have the time to make it at home, then the chutneys are readily available at the Indian stores. The one’s from Deep are the best in quality as well as taste.

Heat water in a saucepan and put the tamarind, dates, jaggery and cook on a medium flame till the dates and tamarind become soft. Switch off flame and allow the mixture to cool.

Grind the mixture to a smooth sauce. Put sauce back into the saucepan and onto a medium flame and add remaining spice ingredients.

Bring the sauce to a boil and switch off the gas. Allow to cool and transfer to a bowl.

Assembly

Slices of white or soft wheat bread (as required)

1 small cucumber (one with less seeds)

1 medium tomato

1 medium potato (boiled, peeled and sliced into rounds)

½ cup cilantro chutney (recipe above)

½ cup tamarind date chutney (recipe above)

Salt

Method:

Remove the edges from the bread.

Peel the cucumber and cut the cucumber into thin circles. Cut the tomato into circles.

Take 2 slices of bread. Spread 1-2 teaspoon of green chutney evenly on one bread. Arrange 4 slices of cucumber on each end top it off with sliced tomatoes and sliced potato. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over them.

Spread a spoonful of tamarind chutney evenly on the other slice of bread. Turn it around and place this on top of the veggies, to make a sandwich. Cut it diagonally.

Repeat the procedure for all the bread slices. Serve immediately, else it will get soggy.